Cora: Ah!
The wind rushed past my ears as I plunged through the air, my maroon velvet gown heavy around my legs. A second later, I hit the freezing ocean water with a massive splash, sinking deep below the surface as the blue ocean swallowed me whole.
Marcus: Evelyn! What the hell did you just do?!
Evelyn: She was canceling your offshore bank access, Marcus! She was going to freeze the entire trust fund!
Marcus: She's going to drown in that heavy dress!
Evelyn: Let her drown! If she dies out here, the estate passes directly to you as her legal husband!
Under the freezing water, my lungs burned for air. The velvet fabric weighed fifty pounds, dragging me down into the dark current. But the image of my mother's ruby brooch pinned to Evelyn's chest burned in my mind. I kicked my shoes off, fighting against the heavy gown, pulling myself up toward the bright sunlight sparkling on the surface.
My head broke through the waves, and I gasped desperately for air, wiping seawater from my eyes as I grabbed hold of the yacht's trailing anchor chain.
Cora: Marcus! Help me!
Evelyn: Don't you dare drop that ladder, Marcus! Throw the engine into gear right now!
Marcus: Evelyn, this is murder! The coast guard is ten minutes away!
Evelyn: It's an accident! She slipped off the marble deck because her heels were wet! That's what we tell the police!
I pulled myself up the steel links of the anchor chain, my hands raw and bleeding against the cold metal. I reached the lower swim platform on the stern, dragging my soaked body onto the teak deck just as the yacht's twin engines roared to life.
Cora: You're not leaving me out here, Evelyn!
Evelyn spun around on her heels, her eyes widening in pure horror as she saw me standing on the lower platform, water dripping from my ruined velvet gown onto the polished deck.
Evelyn: How... how are you still breathing?!
Cora: Because my father built this boat to survive storms, and I am my father's daughter!
I took four heavy steps up the stern stairs, my wet velvet dress slapping against the marble floor under the American flag. Marcus backed away from me, his face pale as ash, while Evelyn clutched her gold sequin dress in sheer terror.
Marcus: Cora... stay back! You're out of your mind!
Cora: I'm not out of my mind, Marcus. But your power of attorney is officially dead.